
Qass. 
Book. 



rt» 



^< 



i^HDIDI^ESS 



OF 



9k 



REV. H. E. NILES, 



,1 



ON THE OCCASION OF 



PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S FUNERAL OBSEQUIES 



I]?? Y^OIMC, I*J^. 



PRINTED BY HIRAM YOUNG, YORK, PA. 



) 





REV. MR. NILES' ADDRESS. 



ON THE OCCASION OF 



iint "y-qi^ik:, :bj^. 



In accordance with official notice by the Acting Secretary of State at 
Washington, and a Proclamation by the Chief Burgess of this Borough, 
the citizens of York (so far as the utmost capacity of the building woald 
allow) assembled in the Lutheran Church, on George street, (Rev. Dr. 
Lochman's,) on Wednesday, April 19, 1865, at noon, to observe, in con- 
cert with their fcUow citizens throughout the land, the Funeral of Abra- 
HAif Lincoln, President of the United States. The following exercises 
were held, viz : 

Heading of Hymn — Kev. A. W. Lillv, of the Lutheran Churcb. 

Prayer — Rev. J. H. C. Dosh, of the Methodist Church. 

Reading of Scriptures — Rev. C. W. Thompson, of the Episcopal Church. 

Address — Rev. H. E. Niles, of the Presbyterian Church. 

Hymn— Rev. W, W. Evans, of the Methodist Church. 

Address — Rev. O. M. Slatsman, of the Baptist Church. 

I'rayer — Rev. J. 0. Miller, of the German Reformed Church. 

Doxology and Benediciien — Rev. J. A. Gere, Chaplain U. S. Hospital. 

At the close of the meeting, on motion of S. J. W. Mintzer, Surgeon 
U. S. Hospital, it was voted unanimously, that the thanks of the congre- 
gation be returned to Revs. Messrs. Niles and Slaysman, and that cop- 
ies of their Addresses be requested for publication. 

The Rev. ]Mr. Slaysman regretting his inability to furnish a copy — 
heartily concurs in the request of Mr. Niles. 

York, Pa., April 25, 1865. 



• Lag 



MR. NILES' ADDRESS. 



This is an occasion without a parallel. For the first time the business 
of our whole people is suspended on a bright, sunny vernal day ami 
badges of mourning are everywhere displayed, and the great heart of :( 
mighty nation weeps because of its murdered head ! True, Death ha-< 
often been in our high places, and wide-spread sorrow has been felt when 
we learned that his skeleton foot had stalked the President's floor But 
never before was the hand of violence raised against the man whom our 
American people delighted most to honor. Never before did the assassin's 
bullet accomplish such a far-reaching, irrevocable, dreadful result. 

In other countries, Cajsar had his Brutus: James the I, of Scotland 
his jealous uncle, Eobert Sicivari; Henry the IV, of France, his Ramillar ■ 
Wm. Prince, of Orange, his Gerard ; and Paul, of Russia, his deadly foe 
lu all these cases, however, it was either personal rivalry, or some plausi- 
ble desire for restricting despotism and promoting the rights of man which 
prompted to the infamous deed. But, in this case, we stand aghast at the 
foul murder of the President of a great Republic :-of one chosen by thf- 
free suffrages of his fellow citizens to preside over a government ofthr 
people-to administer laws to which he himself was subject, and in tlu" 
administration of which (even his own political opponents bein^ jud-^es) 
he has evinced a spirit of kindness, forbearance and noble self-abne^'ation 
without a parallel. It is the murder of a pilot, who, after guidiS<r the 
ship of State over seas of stormy rebellion, with a coolness, a finaness and 
a far-seeing sagacity which have been the admiration of the world— had 
just been re-elected by a grateful people to the same high position • and 
now, in the beginning of his second term, seemed emerging from the' wild 
storms of Passion and bloody Treason out under a clearer sky, and upon 
the surface of a smoother sea of returning prosperity. 

0, to think of it ! that just as the land was ringing with pajans of vio- 
tory-just as the cup of triumph was in our hands, sparkling in the -olden 
light of peace, from beneath its nectared draught should start im thi. 
horrid viper o? assassination with gleaming eyes and gory crest, an.l 
fangs oft dyed with the best blood of the nation, and make a deadly sprin-^ 
at this noblest victim, so that we drop the jeweled cup, and instead of joy 
and hope, are racked again with terror-To think of it, that he who con - 
fessedly wielded the vast power committed to him, with an eye sinde te 
the nation's good, who had just been like an impersonation of charit? and 
forgiveness to the recovered centre of rebellion, and had held out to de- 
luded men the Olive-Branch of peace, and had approved the most liber.] 
terms of surrender for an overpowered army of rebels,-who had come 



back to Washington that he might arrange the easiest terms of pardon 
and restoration for all offenders, and whose last official acts had been so 
marked with gentlenesss and moderation — To think that he who was so 
charitable that he could hardly believe other men malicious ; so forgiving 
that he could hardly believe other men revengeful — so confiding that he 
could not believe the warnings of intended violence — To think that such a 
President — the foremost man of his age, to whom the eyes of the civilized 
world were turned as never before — To think that in the very zenith of 
his greatness, when a victorious army seemed almost ready to come back 
and lay their trophies at his feet, and four millions of liberated slaves 
were already celebrating him as their emancipator ; and twenty millions of 
whites, charmed by his patriotism, his integrity, his unaffected goodnes? 
of heart, were rejoicing in him as their father, and almost ready to wor- 
ship him as their political saviour ; and, also, when the long deceived na- 
tions of Europe were beginning to understand his real excellence, so that 
even English journals had come to speak of him as equal, if not superior 
to their own Hampden and their Cromwell — ! to think that ot such a 
time he should be horribly, fiendishly Murdered ! Murdered at home, im- 
mediately after his safe return from that journey which so many regarded 
as full of peril ! Murdered in the capitol of our nation, the scene of his 
severest labors, the centre of his unequalled glories ! Murdered in his 
first hour of relaxation from exhausting cares, in the presence of his wife 
and before the eyes of admiring thousands who had rushed to that place 
of public resort to greet him after his triumphant return from those crown- 
ing victories before Richmond ! Murdered in the interest of that "system 
of abominations" which, for years, has fostered so much jealousy, conten- 
tion and bloody hate, which has prompted to deeds of cruelty and death 
towards all whose consciences did not approve of its aggressions ; which 
has converted our national capitol into a theatre of bullyism and outrage, 
and which inaugurated this terrible rebellion, which will be the wonder 
of history and the warning for people of all time; i!/r/r(?cre<? on the an- 
niversary of the hauling down of the American Flag from Fort Sumpter, 
jn 1S61, and on the very day when that starry banner, borne back with 
pomp and pageant, was raised again, amid the cheers and tears and pray- 
ers of a rejoicing multitude ! Murdered, also, on that day when Christians 
are accustomed to celebrate the passion and loving sacrifice of the world's 
Uedeemer ! 

O ! What language can describe the horrors of that Saturday, when the 
awful intelligence was flashed along the wires, "Our President has been 
assassinated ! "Our President is only just alive !" "His case is considered 
hopeless!"' "He is JeafZ.'" "The loved and honored Lincoln — the man 
who bore himself so modestly and so kindly that he could not have a per- 
sonal enemy, has been inhumanely slain !" And what an Easter Sabbath 
was iliat, Avhen, all over the land, bells that a few days before, had been 
I'inging out their joy peals on the festal air, were tolling the knell of a 
nation's Hopes — When flags, which had blossomed out from every win. 



(low, in the sunshine of victory, were fringed with a crape— their exultant 
folds gathered with bands of funeral black— When in all our churches 
were worn badges of mourning, and hung the drapery of woe ! What a 
Sabbath, when, instead of swelling anthems of Praise, wc called for dirge.s 
of Grief, like the pathetic wail of David— "The beauty of Israel is slain 
on our high places ! How are the mighty fallen ! Tell it not in Gath, 
publish it not in the streets of Askelon, lest the daughters of the Phili! 
stines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumscised triumph ! How 
are the mighty fallen in the midst of the Battle ! ! Jonathan, thou wast 
slain in thine high places !"' 

Fellow-citizens ! It is impossible adequately to express our proper ab- 
horrence of this deed ot blood ! Whatever our particular estimate of Mr. 
Lincoln as a man— whatever our political creed, or previous associations 
we must feel that the death by brutal violence, of the constitutional Exe- 
cutive of this great nation, is a crime so base and revolting, as to calj 
down the abhorrent reprobation of the civilized world ! It strikes at the 
foundations of all order ; and it seems to have been one act in a plot, 
the full execution of which might have plunged our nation into a state of 
awful anarchy— as it would have been without a counterpart in the history of 
this sin-cursed world. But, let us thank God, even in the midst of our tears, 
that only to such an extent, was this scheme of villainy permitted to suc- 
ceed :— That the other representatives of national authority were saved 
from the power of assassins, and that the beautiful machinery of our Gov- 
erment moves on with unbroken harmony and resistless force ! Indivi- 
duals die, but principles live. Rulers are taken away, but the nation 
which God intends to use, is disciplined, purified and advanced. Doubt- 
less, the Infin ite Disposer of events has suffered this startling result to 
take place at the best time, and /or the wisest ends. It may be. that we 
shall live to see how good can come out of this apparent, national calam. 
ity ! Just when his own aj^ijropriate ivork was most fully done; just when 
he had humbled the pride of the most formidable rebellion that ever oc- 
cured :— and just before he would have been called to the delicate task of 
Restoration and Reconstmction— Abraham Lincoln was removed ! He li- 
ved long enough to vindicate his policy in the conduct of the war, and to see 
the triumphof Constitutional power,— but not long enough to make a single 
mistake in the new field of duty, which was just opening before him.— 
His death, coming as it did, gave the last finish to that most wonderful- 
most eventful life ! So far as his own reputation is concerned, it vfo.sjmt 
the time for him to go. His most enthusiastic admirers could not have' de. 
sired for him an apotheosis, which would more perfectly have rounded 
out his fame, and encircled his name with a brighter halo, than this mar- 
tyr's death ! 

"Having ascended fame's ladder so high, 

From the round at the top he has stepped to the sky." 

But I must close with some practical reflections appropriate to this sol- 
emn event. 



1st What ^^ exhibition oj human «,,-cMnm is here presented before - 
our 'yeTin this boasted noon of the 19th century ! ^^^at a spec acle to 
the ^0 d, and in the sight of Heaven, that in this our g oried land oi 

nberry'n elligence and christian order, a deed of ^^^f -^^^'^^Vr^'l; 
S'be perpetrated, ^vhich would have shocked and disgraced the ag 
ofbarbariL! 01 what a wicked nation ours must be, when to the 
W cS-e of her martyred sons, must be added this illustnous name. 
Sn thesacri^efor ---1-1-2:^:.^:^^ 
r:^r t^^u^^la^f '^--n, .hy^he priests the mini, 
fof tie Lord' should weep between the porch and the alta^ -p^^ 
Spire thy people, Lord, and give not thy heritage to reproach that he 
heathen should r^le over them. Wherefore should they say among the 
TiQov^Q, where is their God f' . , , 

o^d What reason have we here, for more deep, determined and n»- 
s^ina opposition to Slavery and Behellion 1 This cnme is he culmina- 
t on that demoniacal spirit, of which we vainly hoped we had seen the 
Torst n the dra.onnades of Union men at the South m the carv^g o 
he bones of falle; soldiers into trophies and charms, in the deliberate 
the oones ui . ^^^^^ of thousands of Union prisoners in the 

twenCout ot that ungovevuablc insolence wh.ch the hcense of plan^,- 
. ° = „, ;„,„;„< ■ which prompted those hrntal assaults m the Na- 
tion manne s ">»?";; ■7;° /„„, Jj^e U. S. Senate; which broke forth, 

a:.t:rst:> perfecf;!:u;nceofperJnrie^ 

'rated by"-- ti Cabinet, in Senators' chairs and in commando, 
pitratea uj — ^ ^ ^ ^^ j^,3 ^„5, ^j^^,,. 

was rCdy to respond to overtures of clemency and pardon turns to wreak 

1 sptsm f desperate rage upon the person of the gentlest, purest and 

uostTment of rulers, because he had succeeded with the blessing c 

Gof and the support of loyal citizens, in thwarting its wicked schemes o 
Uod,anclthes pp , ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^.^^ ^^^^ malignant 

:::ron : bo oU-tic. Let us be now, more than ever determined 
hat Slavery andRebellionshall die together, as the only security for future 
tMtbiaverya -^ Let mistaken leniency come to an end. 

irt^Tpeoi^rsu t^^^^^^^^^^^ ^--^ of the Courts that L.. 

]^LuZZand Jnsticebedone! Let us show that we consider human 

t^^-tTand national integrity and ^-^^^^-^i^-^^^^^V^P^^^or low 
it wiU not do for any man to lift a finger against them, be he lofty or low- 
y" he general marching at the head of Rebel armies, or a -whng con 
In rator setting fire to crowded hotels:-be he the assassin of the President 
oAn abetto ofsuch deeds, North or South. Let us quit ourselves like men 
•u defen those princi;ies oflaw and order, of freedom and humanity 
Tf virtue and christian love, which the Bible enjoins, and on the basis ..f 
,vhich alone, our precious institutions can stand secure . 



But finally, in all these duties and trials let us be careful of our own 
.spirits, to distinguish between principle and passion ; between hatred of 
roil and personal hostility towards any class or kind. At this solemn 
Ijour, when America's millions are bowed with bleeding hearts, over the 
i^offin of their beloved President, let us remember that we can most truly 
honor him by trying to act loorthy of him. 

As he, around whose memory is now forever wreathed the halo of mar- 
tyrdom, lived in reverent regard for God's authority, so let us be careful 
to do. Let us remember Him who hath said, "Vengeance is mine — I will 
repay," and guard against any seeming disposition to take the preroga- 
tive out of His all-wise hands. Let us rely on His unerring Providence, 
to bring to light the projectors and perpetrators of this most awful mur- 
der. And, in accordance with the principles which He has established, — 
through the agency of those "powers that be, that arc ordained of God" 
ibr the protection of society and the punishment of crime, let us demand 
. that justice be done. Let all murderers, with their accomplices, and all 
leaders in treason and rebellion, be visited, according to law, with the just 
and awful punisl I ment which they deserve. But, let no life be taken in 
the spirit of vengeance. And, for the masses who have been cheated or 
«;ompelled into this most unnatural and suicidal course, let us, in in the 
spirit of forgiveness, be ready to receive their confessions of repentance, 
and welcome them back to Loyalty and Union. For the multitudes on 
l)Oth sides who have been called to injury, suffering and bereavement, let 
us fervently pray. Especially let us pray for that wife of the murdered 
• 'resident, so suddenly made a widow, and those orphaned children who 
mourn as no others were ever called to do. 

Let us pray for him on whom now rests the mighty burden of Exec 
ntive Eesponsibility, — that a double portion of wisdom from above may be 
gi-anted unto him, and that with Jacksonian firmness (nay, with christian 
impartiality and fidelity), he may administer his solemn trust. God Al~ 
inighiy Hoes, the Infinite Sovereign of the Universe ! far above the reach 
of hostile bullets or the alarms of bloody war. To Him let our prayei-s 
more earnestly ascend in behalf of all who wield influence in our national 
councils, or who lead the victorious armies of the Union. And, as He has 
raised up, qualified and preserved this Moses to guide our Israel through 
the Red Sea of a most bloody and desolating war, let us not doubt that He 
will appoint the very Joshua we need to lead us over and establish us in 
the happy Canaan of Liberty, Order and Christian Prosperity. 

And now, as the funeral train at Washington is about to move, hark 
to the sobs of agony, which, bursting from the rocky shores of New Eng> 
land, are borne along over Ontario's and Erie's waters, and swell down 
the Ohio and Mississippi to the crescent city of the Gulf! Hark ! to that 
iuighty dirge of the Atlantic, to which so many millions of hearts beat 
solemn measure, as it peals across the Hudson, over the Alleghanies and 
the Rocky mountains, until it breaks in a solemn wail of grief on the 
golden shores of the Pacific: — While fair young Illinois, pale with weep- 



8 

ing, stretches out her arms to receive to her bosom, the mangled corpse of 
her most favored son, whose glory will make her name illustrious, and 
whose ashes will make her soil a shrine for liberty's pilgrims, through aU 
the ages to come ! 

This day shall be forever sacred in the calendar of our nation. 
It is, as though there was "not a house in the land, where is not one 
dead !" This day, when a mighty nation is bowed as by one common 
impulse of sorrow and shame, shall be remembered as the beginning of 
increased Union and Loyalty and Fidelity to the truth. Around the coffin 
of our martyred President, shall a loyal people join hands, (as did the 
States General of Holland over the remains of their beloved William of 
Orange) in holy league of eternal enmity against that Treason whose root 
is slavery, and whose horrid fruit is war, starvation, savage butchery and 
cold blooded murder ! 

To-day, shall they pledge themselves anew, amid the music of funeral 
liymns, to stand by and uphold by their influence, their prayer, their pro- 
perty, and, if need be, their lives, the government of these United States 
l)y whomsoever administered ; trusting in the President of the Universe, 
our fathers' God, to guide us safely through this whirlwind of confusion 
and over this sea of blood, into the fair haven of an honorable, a lasting 
and a glorious Peace. 



LB S '12 



